Dar Papillon
360-64 High St, Berkhamsted HP4 1HU
Last week was a very quiet week work wise for me so was a good opportunity to catch up with friends –especially as many of them are teachers. So had two lovely days last week in the sunshine exploring things closer to home.
Two of my friends are Vegetarian so it's often a challenge finding somewhere they can have a good choice (as you may have gathered I eat anything!)
Dar Papillon (House of Butterfly) is on the road between Berkhamsted and Northchurch ( just past Pizza Express) and advertises itself as a vegetarian and vegan café. It has a nice little terrace outside (not quite warm enough on that day) and inside is bright a cheery with a cushioned window seat area and tables and chairs – and the other half of the establishment (the Emporium) is a gift/florists and health store. When were in New York we noticed there were lots of places like this – book stores with coffee shops, florists with cafés, we even saw a bead and ribbon shop with a little eatery combined –it's a great idea. All around are pictures and sayings about health and wellness and butterflies!
We arrived to the lovely comfortable café to be greeted with an apple tea and some gluten free snacks while we considered your options (and in our case caught up on the gossip)There's no printed menu as such – just specials on the board which tells you its food good for the soul .
I also heard people asking for sandwiches so it looks like you could have a wider choice than at first it seems. Everything is freshly prepared and the owner Salva is quite charming – (as is the lovely lady, Jo , in the florists part)
It was late morning when we were there so I plumped for the Asian inspired all day breakfast and the girls had hummous salad.
My all day breakfast was toasted homemade bread, with a vegetable burger/patty, courgette and rice spicy mix and an egg on top – it was delicious!
Food was very fresh tasting and felt good knowing I was eating something healthy for once. We managed to have a quick shop in the Emporium – I was delighted to find some local honey to help the hayfever sufferers in my house and some omega 4 seeds which are great for adding to cereal, stir fries or cakes.
AQnd just to add to the excitement have just realised from following them on Facebook that they do a vegan afternoon tea !!
I'm on it - going to gather my posse together !
Keep up the good work – loved it !
The Drawingroom,
Francis Yard Chesham HP5 1DG
On Thursday we had a walk around Old Amersham Bucks – it was that glorious hot day in the mid twenties we enjoyed in the south East of England.
We popped into Chesham on our way home planning on looking round the shops but were immediately intrigued by a little side street that had tables dotted about and tinkly wind chimes – well it was time for a sit down !
What a delightful place both inside and out – we were greeted warmly by the owner Richard and shown around his art gallery/restaurant/café/little oasis .
Inside are lots of different seating areas on different levels with cushions and throws in bright colours and art to buy all over the walls . They do live music events where the band play in one room and it's streamed out to all the different areas.
We sat outside and were mightily disappointed that we had eaten already as the menu was so delicious and eclectic looking http://the-drawingroom.co.uk/menu/ with good choices for vegetarian, gluten free organic and so on.
Sadly we had to restrict ourselves to a warm scone and cream and jam and a pot of tea but the scone was a great one – really moist inside, slight crisp to the outside.
It was such a great place to sit and watch the world go by and Richard is obviously very well known and liked by his regulars who were coming in all afternoon.
I really must go back and try those Wapas (world tapas) !!
Have you been to either of these places ? What did you think ?
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